The First Day Of The Rest Of The Budget.

Good Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Today is Sept. 21, 2009, A.D. (or After Deal) for the laymen out there, and here at Capitol Ideas World

HQ, we're still struggling (like the rest of you) to figure out exactly what's in the handshake agreement that lawmakers and Gov. Ed announced early on Friday evening.

Having decided to put the interests of 253 lawmakers ahead of the 12 million Pennsylvanians who have been waiting for a budget since July 1, Rendell and legislative leaders said they're going to wait until they have a chance to brief backbenchers before they release the full details of the $27.9 billion spending plan they should begin voting this week.

We do know that the budget agreement coheres to the broad outlines of the three-caucus plan that was announced two weeks ago. And thanks to the Legislature being an utterly porous place, we also know that it includes such new revenue-raisers as a sales tax on theater and concert tickets and an apparently new levy on the sale of so-called "cigarillos," or little cigars.

We also know that there's a funding mechanism included in the spending plan to help underwrite the construction of a new hockey arena in the Lehigh Valley and that there will most likely be some kind of "local-share" component to the legislation that will legalize table games at the slot-machine casinos.

The rest of today's headlines, which are pretty much dominated by the budget, start after the jump.

Legislative Staffers ...
... spent their Sunday afternoon and evening tinkering with the fine print of the budget agreement, the Patriot-News reports this morning.
It appears unlikely that a general appropriation bill will go before a joint House and Senate conference committee today. But that's not a big deal. The legislation will move quickly toward a vote once it clears the panel, the P-N reported.
For those of you keeping score at home, as many as 20 state laws may have to be amended to implement the budget agreement.

It Could Take A While ...
... for Gov. Ed and state lawmakers to recover their public prestige now that the budget mess is finally in endgame, the Tribune-Review reports this morning.
That is, if they ever do.
"Everyone's taken a hit in terms of public support," Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, tells the newspaper. "There's enough dissatisfaction with the whole process and the handling of this budget that there's a lot of people wounded politically."Rendell's "paid a very steep price," said Borick. "He doesn't have the same standing he once did."
A poll earlier this month by Franklin & Marshall College showed public support for Rendell and lawmakers at an all-time low.
"There's no way you can say after this process that legislators and the governor come out winners," said G. Terry Madonna, professor and pollster at F&M who directed the poll.
"The process used to get it done was dysfunctional," Madonna told the Trib.

An Appeal For Help.
Tickets are now on sale for this year's 79th annual Gridiron Dinner, which benefits the Capitol pressroom's summer internship program. We're informed that ticket sales have been massively sluggish thanks to the lousy economy and this year's budget mess.
Things are so bad, in fact, that we're giving serious consideration to pulling the plug on this year's gala if things don't pick up soon.
And that would be a real shame, since this year's Oct. 5 bash at the Harrisburg Hilton promises to be one of the best ever. Three of the four legislative caucuses are participating. We're told Gov. Ed has something special in mind. And Washington journalist Ana Marie Cox (of Wonkette fame) will be the emcee.
Once again, this is all for charity, folks. Every dime we make from the dinner goes back into the intership program so we can train the next generation of journalists. After all, someone has to be on-hand to cover the story when Tom Corbett finally gets around to charging Republicans.
Tickets are $80 a person. Use the e-mail link at the top if you're interested in purchasing tickets.

From The Patriot-News ...
... we learn that House Republicans from central Pennsylvania are toeing their caucus line and saying they won't vote in favor of the compromise spending plan announced Friday.
“We waited all this time for this? Give me a break,” kvelledRep. Ron Marsico, R-Dauphin.
“It’s not the $27.5 billion that I was looking for,” kvetchedRep. Sue Helm, R-Dauphin. “I think we still have some work to do on this.”
Is now the wrong time to point out that the House GOP could have had an impact if they'd chosen to participate in negotiations instead of sitting in the corner and holding their collective breath until they turned blue?

This Just In ...
... private poll commissioned by Joe Hoeffel's campaign finds that Joe Hoeffel is leading the Democratic gubernatorial field. What will they think of next?
In case you're wondering, the poll by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake finds Hoeffel taking 15 percent of the vote in a head-to-head match-up.Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and state Auditor General Jack Wagner take 12% each, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty is at 6%, and gajillionaire Philly businessman Tom Knox trails at 5%.
Leavening the results somewhat is the finding that 50 percent of statewide voters wouldn't recognize any of the candidates if they hit them with the cars. So it's probably a bit early to break out the party balloons.

What Goes On.
Democratic state Supreme Court candidate Jack Panella of Northampton County is the featured speaker at today's Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon at the Harrisburg Hilton. Your humble blogger is emceeing today's proceedings, which get underway at high noon.

EdWatch (TM):
If Gov. Ed has a public schedule, he's keeping it to himself. Our in-box was sadly bereft this morning.

On This Day In History:
Today in 1784, the first daily newspaper in American history, the Pennsylvania Packet and General Advertiser began publishing. The inaugural edition contained the first-ever "Family Circus" comic strip and also kick-started the tradition of calling the news department, instead of circulation, to complain about undelivered newspapers.

In The Blogosphere.GrassrootsPA: We're not sure you meant this "24th District Senate candidates excuse each other of mudslinging." Ermm ... "accuse each other," maybe?; 2 Political Junkies on "the New McCarthyism"; Great news: An oil spill in rural PA, reports Young Philly Politics; Tony Phyrillas reacts to the budget deal and miraculously excuses Republicans of any complicity in it; Bernie O'Hare introduces us to a new local 'blogger; Gort on a new NePa congressional candidate; Above Average Jane read a Q&A in Parade magazine with Rep. Patrick Murphy; Suburban Guerrilla has a little Delaney & Bonnie for yr. listening pleasure; I've Made A Huge Tiny Mistake gives it up for Roger Federer; Policy Blog looks at the taxes in the budget proposal, doesn't like them (as constant as the northern star, it's why we love you guys :) ); Capri makes Challah which makes us wanna Hollah!!!!; Wonkette has your daily briefing; Ann Pettifor on "The Choice for the G-20" (we mostly see it as running TOWARD or running AWAY from riot police in Pittsburgh this week); Andrew Sullivan on whether your friends make you fat (ours mostly drive us to drink); The Corner on the war in Afghanistan; Daily Kos has your abbreviated pundit round-up; Red State makes with the political cartooning; DCist has our Picture of the Day (TM), and James Wolcott eulogizes Jim Carroll.

On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning.
Here's an old favorite from the vaults. It's New Order and the hauntingly beautiful "Your Silent Face." The song appeared on the band's sophomore "Power, Corruption and Lies" LP. But the clip below is from a live performance in Sweden in 2002.

Monday's Gratuitous Soccer Link(s):
It was quite a weekend for The Beautiful Game around Casa Capitol Ideas. Our beloved Manchester United beat out crosstown rivals Manchester City, 4-3, in this weekend's Manchester derby.
Meanwhile, our sentimental favorites, Aston Villa, defeated a hapless Portsmouth side 2-0 on Saturday.
Pompey are winless in their last six starts. Things aren't looking good on the South Coast.

That's it for now. We'd like to extend a quick word of thanks to readers who sent in such touching notes of thanks for our coverage of Budget Debacle 2009. We've tried to bring you the story as it happens. It's nice to know that the effort paid off. Please join us back here later today for this week's all-budget edition of the "Politics as Usual" podcast. And remember to register for state news alerts on our Twitter page.